Some computer storage systems include multiple disk drives for storing data. Such disk drives typically include circuit board portions and head disk assembly portions, and reside in housings which install within a cabinet. The housings hold the disk drives in fixed locations within the cabinet such that an air stream within the cabinet (e.g., from one or more cooling fans) provides a cooling effect to the disk drives.
One conventional housing is made completely of light-weight plastic, and surrounds the disk drive in order to provide adequate support against disk drive vibration. Elongated holes in the housing, which extend along the direction of the air stream, expose sections of the circuit board portion and the head disk assembly portion of the disk drive to the air stream in order to allow heat from the disk drive to escape thus reducing the disk drive operating temperature. This temperature reduction lowers the disk drive failure rate.
In some configurations, each housing holds other components in addition to a disk drive. For example, each housing can further hold a daughter card which operates as an interface between a storage system controller and the disk drive contained in that housing. As another example, each housing can further hold a lever which a user actuates in order to (i) install the housing into the cabinet and (ii) remove the housing from the cabinet.
Unfortunately, there are deficiencies associated with the use of conventional disk drive housings. In particular, a conventional light-weight plastic housing, which completely surrounds a disk drive and provides elongated holes in a direction of an air stream, may not provide adequate cooling. If these holes were to be made larger, the structural characteristics of the housing would be weakened, and the housing would not be able to provide adequate support against disk drive vibration. The excess vibration would cause the disk drive to experience data access problems, e.g., incorrect address and data reads when seeking particular locations on the disk drive.
In contrast, the invention is directed to techniques for cooling a disk drive using a louver to direct air from an air stream toward the disk drive. One arrangement is directed to a storage system which includes a cabinet assembly, and a fan assembly that provides an air stream through the cabinet assembly. The storage system further includes a disk drive assembly that fastens to the cabinet assembly. The disk drive assembly includes (i) a disk drive that stores and retrieves computerized data, and (ii) a support member that supports the disk drive. The support member defines an input louver that redirects air from the air stream toward the disk drive of the disk drive assembly. This arrangement enables forced convection air to adequately cool the disk drive thus reducing disk drive operating temperature and lowering the disk drive failure rate. This lowering of the failure rate translates into improved field reliability and lower repair costs.
In one arrangement, the support member of the disk drive assembly defines multiple input louvers (e.g., two) that redirect air from the air stream toward the disk drive of the disk drive assembly. The multiple input louvers increase the amount of air from the air stream which cools the disk drive for an improved cooling effect.
In one arrangement, the support member of the disk drive assembly further defines output louvers that enable air adjacent the disk drive to escape toward the air stream. The output louvers facilitate the flow of air passing the disk drive.
In one arrangement, the support member of the disk drive assembly includes a metallic housing (e.g., steel) that defines each louver. The metallic housing provides high stiffness in order to adequately control vibration of the disk drive. Moreover, the louvers can be punched into the metallic housing in order to obtain a stiffening effect from work hardening and bending action occurring in the metal.
In one arrangement, the disk drive of the disk drive assembly includes a head disk assembly portion and a circuit board portion, and the support member of the disk drive assembly is configured to fully expose a side of the head disk assembly portion of the disk drive to the air stream. Such exposure maximizes air flow over the head disk assembly portion for effective cooling of the head disk assembly portion.
The features of the invention, as described above, may be employed in data storage systems and other computer-related components such as those manufactured by EMC Corporation of Hopkinton, Mass.